St. Lucie County judge allows depositions in Cabrera DUI case

FORT PIERCE — A judge on Friday gave the attorney representing Miguel Cabrera permission to subpoena and take sworn statements from witnesses who reported seeing the Detroit Tigers star first baseman before he was arrested in western St. Lucie County Feb. 16 on drunk-driving charges.

Under Florida law, depositions are not allowed in misdemeanor cases such as Cabrera's without a judge's approval, and then only in special cases.

"What makes this case any more important than any other DUI case?" County Judge Cliff Barnes asked during the hearing Friday afternoon.

Defense attorney Michael Kessler replied that Cabrera, as an American League ballplayer, would have to play the Toronto Blue Jays in Toronto, "and he can't go into Canada with a DUI conviction without express permission from Canadian officials. And they're not going to give that permission to the Tigers' best ballplayer."

According to the Citizenship and Immigration Canada website (www.cic.gc.ca): "If you have been convicted of driving while impaired by alcohol or drugs, you will probably be found criminally inadmissible ... a term used to describe a person who will not be allowed to visit or stay in Canada."

According to the Tigers' website, the team doesn't have any more games in Toronto this year but played a series there May 6-9.

Barnes didn't seem to be swayed by the Canadian argument, but he did agree the case was "more complex than most DUI's" because witnesses reported seeing Cabrera drunk before his arrest, specifically:

When two Walmart truck drivers reported a black Ranger Rover, later determined to be Cabrera's, forced one of their rigs and an oncoming car off Okeechobee Road.

Cabrera was arrested about 11 p.m. Feb. 16 when a St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office deputy spotted Cabrera's vehicle pulled to the side of Okeechobee Road with smoke coming from its hood. The deputy reported Cabrera, a native of Venezuela with a Boca Raton address, grabbed a bottle of Scotch and started drinking during the stop.

Cabrera has been charged with DUI, one misdemeanor count of resisting an officer without violence and a citation for open container of alcohol in a motor vehicle. A second count of resisting an officer was dropped.

Barnes scheduled a status hearing for 9 a.m. Aug. 11, adding he planned at that time to set a date for a trial to begin, probably in September.

When Kessler said October was more likely, Barnes replied, "This case can't go on for a year. It's a DUI case, not a murder case."